Internet and Democratic Stability: The Legal Challenge to Face the Threat (Canada) (Forum: Democracy & the Internet‪)‬

There are few political scientists who would deny that access to current and reliable information, by as many citizens as possible, is one of the most important ingredients to maintaining and protecting a free and democratic society. There are few others who would refute that the Internet, whether used as a personal communication medium, as a research tool, or as the backbone of data communications that underpins vast segments of our economy, is crucial to the social and economic fabric of democratic society. Therefore, when one considers which aspects of the relationship between the Internet and democracy are the most important and challenging, our dependence on information reliability, data integrity, authenticity, and media dependability stands out. As both a political institution and as a social and economic way of life, our democracy stands on the shoulders of a network of infrastructures that we depend and rely upon. Generally, as those infrastructures emerged at various intervals of our history, our political and legal systems adapted to recognize their importance and the role they play in enabling our democratic society. Through a series of laws, regulations, regulatory bodies, and various arrays of public policy initiatives (perhaps driven by funding decisions of some sort), those infrastructures are secured and protected in the public interest in ways that ensure their essential contributions to our political economy.